The Role of the Politician in the Democratic Regime

This chapter presents a view of the role played by politicians within the British democratic regime in the period since 1800. It ponders some important recent trends in the writing of political history, and welcomes signs that the ‘crisis’ of political history appears to be passing. From there, the chapter discusses the nature of the system in which politicians operated, and, by extension, the way in which politicians were compelled to act. Moreover, it presents a way of thinking through the problem of political history that is somewhat at odds with the left-wing interpretations that have tended to shape the field. It concludes by expressing the hope that younger scholars will reclaim the disciplinary pre-eminence that political history once enjoyed.